Rostec to develop hydrogen engines for aircraft
The development of power plants with a low carbon footprint has potential for application in the aviation industry.
United Engine Corporation (UEC) (a Russian state-owned company responsible for producing engines for military and civil aviation and space exploration programs and a subsidiary of Rostec) has announced developing power plants for aeronautical and terrestrial use hydrogen fuel.
The project working group was formed in the summer of 2021, and development work has started. The working group included specialists from UEC enterprises that would be working on developing power plants in cooperation with scientific and industrial institutes and organisations that have expertise in using hydrogen fuel.
Yuri Shmotin, UEC General Designer, said, “We are considering two main technologies: direct combustion of hydrogen fuel in modified gas turbines and electrochemical conversion of fuel into electrical energy using fuel cells.”
There are two options for using hydrogen one is to burn gas in an engine while the other is using fuel cells, where hydrogen reacts with oxygen to form electrical energy.
Rostec is a partner of the world’s leading manufacturers such as Boeing, Airbus, Daimler, Pirelli, Renault and others.
Kamaz, a Russian Tucks and engines manufacturer in which Rostec holds around 49.9% shares, announced early this year to develop hydrogen-powered trucks and buses. It planned to develop a hydrogen 18-ton vehicle and a hydrogen bus.
